Top 7 Underrated Horror Movies That Will Keep You Up All Night

Horror movies come a dime a dozen: every year, a number of new titles get released on the big screen and, often, a lot of them end up dated and forgotten. However, here are a few horror movies that are worth checking out this summer.

The Children (2008)

The Children is what Home Alone would look like if it were a horror movie. It follows a family on vacation that turned for the worst when the children began turning against their parents. This movie about children setting up traps to brutally murder their parents and other relatives will definitely send shivers down your spine.

The Children is written and directed by Tom Shankland and stars Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell Moore, and Jeremy Sheffield. It has a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Orphanage (2007)

Another movie that proves that children are creepy is The Orphanage (El Orfanato) from Jurassic World 2director J.A. Bayona and produced by Guillermo Del Toro. This award-winning horror movie follows a mother whose son starts communicating with what she thought was an imaginary friend when they move back to her childhood home. It turns out, the house used to be an orphanage for handicapped children and, when she decided to reopen it, weird things start to happen.

House of the Devil (2009)

Ti West has directed a number of horror movies, but this one is arguably his best. House of the Devil pays homage to ’70s and ’80s horror movies, mixing slasher with the haunted house subgenres.

The movie follows a young college student who was hired to babysit in a remote mansion. Soon after, weird things start to happen and the young woman has to fight to survive. It stars Jocelin Donahue (StartUp) as Samantha, the babysitter.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

This mockumentary is a horror/black comedy movie made by Scott Glosserman. The movie follows a journalist and her crew tasked to document an aspiring serial killer.

Made in the same fashion as Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon was able to pay homage to slasher horror movies, but still finds time to make fun of its cliches. The movie even features cameos from horror movie veterans like Robert Englund who played the role of the infamous Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street and Kane Warren Hodder who was Jason Vorhees on Friday the 13th.

Eden Lake (2008)

Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reily just want a romantic weekend together, but a gang of teen delinquents threatens their lives. Eden Lake received mostly positive reviews and was even dubbed as the best British horror movie in years. It retains an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie was directed by James Thomas Watkins who also helmed the big screen adaptation of The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Grave Encounters (2011)

Grave Encounters is made in the style of found footage that follows the cast and crew of a supernatural reality show who locked themselves inside a haunted psychiatric hospital in search of the paranormal. It is not exactly the best-made horror movie in this list, but it contains enough jump scares and terrifying scenes that can help keep one awake the entire night.

Lovely Molly (2011)

Newlyweds Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis) moves into her father’s home where painful memories start to haunt her. Eventually, the titular character starts acting strange, growing more evil as more revelations about her past are uncovered.

Lovely Molly was directed by Eduardo Sanchez who also co-directed the 1999 psychological horror movie The Blair Witch Project.